One of Nigeria’s richest men set to be buried in Saudi Arabia

One of Nigeria’s wealthiest businessmen, Aminu Dantata, is set to be buried in Saudi Arabia later after he died on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.

Business mogul Dantata, 94, an uncle of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, leaves three wives, 21 children and 121 grandchildren.

His body was transferred from Abu Dhabi where he died to the holy city of Medina after Saudi authorities approved his burial in their country.

It was his wish to be buried in a city he adored and where Islam’s prophet Muhammad lived and died.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu described Dantata’s death as a “monumental national loss” in a statement.

He said Dantata had made “sterling contributions to Nigeria’s growth and development” through decades of enterprise, service, and philanthropy.

He was known across Nigeria for his philanthropic activities. Last year, he donated 1.5 billion naira ($972,000; £710,000) to victims of the devastating floods in north-eastern Borno state.

His business interests cut across agriculture, real estate, construction and manufacturing.

He first made his name in agriculture, starting trading kola nuts and groundnuts in the 1940s.

He came from a business family – his father Alhassan Dantata was once considered to be the richest man in West Africa.

Despite his riches, Dantata lived in one of the poorest areas of the northern city of Kano, like his parents before him.

His influence was also felt in politics, with politicians eager to seek his blessings before elections.

A video of President Tinubu bowing to greet him before the 2023 elections went viral on social media.

A special prayer was held for him in Kano, where he lived all his life.

Two Nigerian state governors and four government ministers have gone to Medina for his funeral.

Dantata studied Islamic education, before going to a secondary school built by his father in Kano.

“In our family, a child starts learning how to earn money from as early as five, six or seven years old,” he said in one of his most popular interviews, with Trust TV last year.

“Our father would tell us: ‘You see how people bring groundnuts on donkeys and in sacks – you should also know how to start earning money.’ During school breaks, our father would use the time to teach us how to do business,” he said.

He began venturing fully into business at 17, taking over from his brother Ahmadu Dantata as head of the business his father established in Bichi in the 1950s.

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